Wasatch Cache and Uinta National Forests

In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah State Parks.

 

 

Avalanche advisory

Sunday, April 13, 2003

 

Good Morning. This is Craig Gordon with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the western Uinta Mountains including but not limited to the terrain surrounding Chalk Creek, Smith-Moorehouse, the Mirror Lake Highway, and Woodland. The avalanche danger could be slightly higher today on the Evanston side of the range as well as near Daniels, as these regions have a shallower snowpack.

This advisory is made possible through a generous grant provided by Utah State Parks. This will be the last weekend of regularly scheduled advisories. I’ll post some general avalanche awareness information this week, in order to help you make your own snowpack decisions.

Today is Sunday, April 13, 2003, and it’s 7:30 in the morning.

 

Current Conditions:

Under a veil of clouds overnight low temperatures barely dipped below freezing, even at the highest elevations. Southerly winds have died down for the time being and are in the 10-20 mph range with gusts in the 30’s along the highest ridges. The riding and turning conditions are a bit underwhelming especially below about 9,500’ as the snowpack at mid elevation hasn’t received a solid refreeze for several nights. In the high country above timberline the crusts are a bit more supportable.

 

Avalanche Conditions:

The warm weather continues to take its toll on the strength of the snowpack and in much of the mid and lower elevation terrain the snow has become completely unsupportable. Near the ground the weak facets that have plagued our snowpack all year are becoming damp and cohesionless. Today at elevations below about 9,500’ it may be possible for avalanches to step down into this weak snow near the ground taking out what’s left of this seasons snowpack.  

So if you still insist on getting out on the snow today I’d suggest traveling into the upper elevations where the temperatures have been cooler and the snowpack is noticeably stronger. Above timberline I’m still concerned about steep, rocky terrain where the snowpack has been shallow and weak all year. Several natural wet avalanches have occurred in this type of terrain during the heat of the day and these slides were starting as small, wet point releases, which quickly stepped down into weak snow near the ground.

Remember that the sun is high in the sky these days and its strong warming effects can be felt on all aspects.

A good rule of thumb this time of year is to get on the snow early when it’s firm and supportable. If you find yourself sinking in much past your boot tops, it’s either time to change aspect or get off the snow entirely. Also be aware of natural signs of instability such as roller balls careening down the slope or small point release avalanches. As the day progresses you’ll want to get off of and out from under any steep slope. 

 

Bottom Line:

At mid elevations below about 9,500’ the avalanche danger is MODERATE this morning on all steep slopes. Human triggered avalanches are possible. The danger may rise to CONSIDERABLE with daytime heating.

Above timberline the avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning but will rise to MODERATE as the day progresses.

 

Mountain Weather:

A strong and mild southwest flow will remain over the state today producing warm and windy conditions. High temperatures at 8,000’ will be in the mid to upper 50’s and at 10,000’ in the upper 40’s. Overnight lows will be in the lower 30’s. Winds will be out of the south at speeds of 15-30 mph and should increase throughout the day. Skies should be partly sunny today, becoming mostly cloudy during the evening hours. On Monday things should start to get interesting as a cold Pacific system moves into the area. It looks like snow will start to develop late in the afternoon with a good shot coming in Monday night into Tuesday. A bit of a break on Wednesday with a return to cool, unsettled weather for the last half of the week.    

 

General Information:

If you’re getting out and about we’d still like to hear from you, especially if you see or trigger an avalanche. Call 1-800-662-4140, or 801-231-2170, or email to [email protected] or fax to 801-524-6301.

The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content.  

This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

The Salt Lake office will continue to issue afternoon avalanche advisories as needed until about the end of April. You can obtain that information on the internet as well as by phone at 801-364-1581.

I’d like to thank those of you who helped to support this program all season. In particular a big thanks goes out to Utah State Parks, the Kamas and Evanston Ranger Districts, Arctic Cat Snowmobiles, and all of you who were diligent in calling in timely snowpack and avalanche observations.

I will update this advisory by 7:30 a.m. on Monday, April 14, 2003 with some general avalanche and snowpack information.

Thanks for calling